Harper Elementary is initiating a math fact fluency initiative for students. 

New to Harper staff this year is Terry Howell. Howell will be partnering with the teachers in third through fifth grades in math enrichment and remediation. His role will be to help enrich gifted and accelerated students and provide support for students needing more math intervention. 

“Higher level mathematics requires that students know their basic math facts and can retrieve them effectively,” Howell said. “A student cannot factor a polynominal if they cannot divide, and they cannot divide if they cannot multiply.”  

Said Harper Principal Melvin Hugans, “We are proud of the work all Harper teachers are doing to provide a higher level of engagement and rigor for our students. Howell is a great addition to an outstanding group of teachers. He is a veteran educator, with various life experiences as a Thomas County native, naval officer and businessman. His experiences have equipped him to enrich and challenge students to become life-long learners as well as mathematicians. He has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to connect with and encourage students to excel.” 

“Math fact fluency does require some memorization. But more, it requires students to develop strategies in how to recall or calculate their facts,” Howell said. “As adults, we all have adopted our own mental math strategies. The challenge is to introduce multiple ones to the students so that they can find the ones that work for them.”

A “Top Math Dog” T-shirt will be given to all students in third through fifth grades who can demonstrate math facts efficiently and accurately. Once earned, students will wear the shirt to challenge other students to show math proficiency. 

Students also will be honored in the nine-weeks assembly programs.